Canadian researchers are increasingly expected to share their data and make them available for re-use. However, not all data can be shared openly: privacy and legal issues, intellectual property and commercial obligations, and ethics considerations are just a few reasons that may necessitate access restrictions to a dataset. As a result, the Canadian research ecosystem faces a demand for strategies and support for managing research data requiring controlled access. The Controlled Access Management for Research Data (CAM) Initiative is a national initiative led by the Digital Research Alliance of Canada (the Alliance) in collaboration with 29 Canadian institutions and organizations, or Partner Organizations (POs). The goal of the initiative is to advance the Canadian research ecosystem’s capacity to support the management of controlled-access research data. Over the course of a year, Partner Organizations and their staff worked collaboratively to map the current landscape of controlled access management in Canada; identify the needs and challenges facing Canadian institutions that support controlled access management; and develop recommendations to advance Canada’s capacity to support controlled access management of research data.